On 23 May 1667 Abigail married William Merrick, son of William Merrick (ca 1602-3 Dec 1686) & Rebecca Tracy (say 1625-3 Dec 1686), in Eastham, MA.156,3 Born on 15 Sep 1643 in Duxbury, MA.3,156 William died in Harwich on 30 Oct 1732; he was 89.24

Abigail Hopkins' parents were among the Pilgrims at the very first thanksgiving in the Fall of 1621.

Part V. First Pilgrim Thanksgiving

The background for the Pilgrim's first Thanksgiving is found in Bradford's History. In the fall of 1621, their first fall in the New World, "They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses and dwelling against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength, and had all things in good plenty; for as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercised in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish, of which they took good store, of which every family had their portion. All summer there was no want. And now began to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, of which this place did abound when they came first, but afterward decreased by degrees. And besides water fowl, there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides they had about a peck a meal a week to a person, and now since harvest, Indian corn to that proportion.--And thus they found the Lord to be with them in all their ways, and to bless their out-goings and in-comings..."

In their first ten months at Plymouth, just passed, they had erected seven dwellings, a Common Meeting house and three small store houses for food, clothing and other supplies.

In spite of their numbers having been cut in half by sickness and death, they found reasons for thankfulness. They had gained their foot-hold on the edge of an inhospitable continent. They were well recovered in health and strength. They were making the best of a hard life in the wilderness. They had proved that they could sustain themselves in the new, free land. They were assured of the success of their purpose of establishing freedom. They had made firm friends with the Indians, who had been so kind to them.

The original account of the first Pilgrim Thanksgiving is in a letter from Edward Winslow in Plymouth, dated Dec. 21st, 1621 to George Morton in England. It was printed in Mourt's Relation, London, 1662. Winslow relates the following: "We set last spring some twenty acres of Indian corn, and sowed some six acres of barley and peas. According to the manner of the Indians we manured our ground with herrings (alewives) which we have in great abundance and take with great ease at our doors. Our corn did prove well, and God be praised, we had a good increase in Indian corn. Our barley did indifferent good, but our peas not worth the gathering. We feared they were too late sown. They came up very well and blossomed, but the sun parched them in the blossom. Our harvest being gotten in, our Governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might, after a special manner, rejoice together, after we had gathered in the fruits of our labors. They four in one day killed as many fowl as with little help besides, served the Company for almost a week, at which time, amongst our recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their great king the Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted. They went out and killed five deer, which they brought in to the Plantation, and bestowed on our Governor, and upon the Captain and others. Although it not always be so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty. -- We have found the Indians very faithful in their Covenant of Peace with us; very loving and ready to pleasure us. Some of us have been fifty miles into the country by land with them. -- There is now great peace amongst us; and we, for our parts, walk as peaceably and safely in the woods here as in the highways in England. - I never in my life remember a more seasonable year than we have enjoyed. -- If we have but once kine, horses and sheep, I make no question but men might live as contented here, as in any part of the world. -- The country wanteth only industrious men to employ, for it would grieve your hearts to see so many miles together with goodly rivers uninhabited, and withall to consider those parts of the world wherein you live to be seven greatly burdened with abundance of people."

For three days the Pilgrims and their Indian guests gorged themselves on venison, roast duck, goose and turkey, clams and other shell-fish, succulent eels, corn bread, hasty pudding, leeks and water-cress and other "sallet herbes," with wild plums and dried berries as dessert, all washed down with wine made of the wild grape. The affair was more like an out-door barbeque for the entire population, than a family reunion dinner.

This feasting involved the preparation of unusually large quantities of food, some of it unfamiliar. Only four of their married women had survived, and only five teenage girls, three of those being the sole survivors of their families. They must have been extremely industrious and efficient, and they must have worn themselves ragged, trying to fill a hundred and forty demanding stomachs for three days. Sufficient tribute has never been paid to them for making these festivities a success, under such trying conditions. Indeed, even the success of the Colony rested largely in their most capable and devoted hands.

The gathering was enlivened by contests of skill and strength: running, jumping, wrestling. Also, there were games of various kinds. The Indians were probably amazed to learn that the white men could play games not unlike their own. The Indians performed their dances and struck up their singing. Standish put his little army of fourteen men through their military review. Then followed feats of marksmanship, muskets performing against bows and arrows. The Massasoit and his braves headed home at last with a warmth of feeling for his white friends which survived even the harsh tests to which it was soon subjected.

Thus they elaborately celebrated the prospect of abundance until their next harvest.

THE ARRIVAL OF THE PILGRIMS T(The context for our ancestor Stephen Hopkins)

by Duane Cline

The Pilgrims' first winter in America had been difficult. They lacked food, and about half of the colonists had died of the "great sickness" during the first terrible winter and most of the survivors were too weak to properly defend themselves from any attack. The Pilgrims were quite aware of the Indian presence. The Indians undoubtedly kept the plantation under constant surveillance and probably knew of their losses. One may wonder why they did not attack and destroy the settlement. Of course, the Mayflower had not yet returned to England, quite possibly leading the Indians to believe the ship and its crew were to remain here indefinitely. Based on their past experiences with those on European ships, they may have decided to have a wait and see attitude toward the little settlement.

SAMOSET'S ARRIVAL

It was not until March 16/26, some three months after the Pilgrims arrived, that a tall Indian walked boldly into the plantation crying out, "Welcome! Welcome, Englishmen!" The Pilgrims were startled when the Indian named Samoset introduced himself to the Pilgrims in English. Samoset, an Abnaki Indian from Maine, had been kidnapped by explorers and taken to England.

Although it was a relatively cold and windy day, he wore only moccasins and a fringed loin skin. Over his shoulders were a bow and empty quiver, while in his right hand he carried two arrows, one with a stone point, the other with no tip, probably to signify that he and his people were prepared for either war or peace. In broken English, he told the Pilgrims that he was Samoset, Sachem of a tribe in Mohegan Island, Maine, where he had learned to speak a little English from his contact with the fishermen and traders who visited his island each year. He had been visiting the Wampanoags for the past eight months, but he intended to return to his own people within a short time. [He had sailed with Capt. Dermer from Monhegan to Cape Cod some six months before the arrival of the Mayflower, and spending the winter with the Nauset Indians, reached the Plymouth settlement on that Spring day in 1621.]

Since he was the first Indian with whom the Pilgrims had spoken since they arrived in New England, they questioned him for some time, learning from him that the Patuxets, who formerly owned the land on which they had built their settlement, had all died four years before [1617] from the plague, and that their nearest neighbors were the Nemaskets, a tribe of about 300 people. [This information is in agreement with the account of Capt. Thomas Dermer.]

He told them that the Massasoit, Great Sachem of the Wampanoags, was then staying at Nemasket, attended by a number of his Councilors.

After tossing a coat over his shoulders to ward off the chill winds, the Pilgrims fed him, then continued to question him. Samoset told the Pilgrims of the seizure by Capt. Thomas Hunt of twenty Indians from the tribe which lived there at Patuxet, of seven Indians from the Nauset tribe, whom he had enticed on board his ship under the pretense of trading with them, then carried them off to be sold into slavery. The Spanish monks proved to be less cruel than the English captain. Through the efforts of the monks, the Indian survivors were rescued and given their liberty.

When it became evident that Samoset did not intend to leave, the Pilgrim leaders decided to let him sleep on the Mayflower since it would be almost impossible for him to commit any treachery out in the harbor. However, the water was too rough for them to launch the shallop with any degree of safety and it was decided to allow him to sleep at the house of Stephen Hopkins, who would keep watch over him throughout the night. Samoset left after breakfast the next morning, but came back on the following Sunday with five more Indians who not only returned some of the Pilgrims' tools they had found in the woods, but brought some furs to trade. After the Pilgrims fed them, they explained that they could not conduct any business on the Sabbath, asking the Indians to return at another time with more furs. Samoset, who complained that he felt ill, did not leave with the others but remained in Plymouth until Wednesday morning.

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Stephen Hopkins brought with him his three children, and one more was born on the voyage. Giles, who was thirteen years old on the voyage, is our ancestor.

• m. (1) Mary (maiden name unknown), bef. 1604, probably in Hampshire, England. NOTE: He did not marry Constance Dudley, a claim disproven by Caleb Johnson's article in July 1998 issue of The American Genealogist, 73:161:171

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• Edward Winslow and William Bradford may also have learned something of medicine from William Brewster. The fact that Edward Winslow went to visit the ailing Indian sachem, Massasoit, and gave him some medicines which brought him back to health suggests that he had some understanding of the healing arts.

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• Stephen Hopkins had served as a clerk to the minister on the ill-fated voyage of the Sea Venture before joining the Pilgrim group on the Mayflower. It is conceivable that he, also, had learned some basic skills in the art of healing from that clergyman.

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Abigail Hopkins is the fourth of ten children of Catherine (Catorne) Wheldon and Giles Hopkins, the second child of Stephen Hopkins who came with his father, stepmother and siblings on the Mayflower in 1620. She married William Merrick.

7. ABIGAIL4 HOPKINS (GILES3, STEPHEN2, STEPHEN1) was born October 1644, and died Unknown. She married WILLIAM MERRICK May 23, 1667 in Eastham, Barnstable Co., MA, son of WILLIAM MERRICK and REBECCA TRACY. He was born September 15, 1643 in Duxbury, MA, and died October 30, 1732 in Harwich, MA.

More About WILLIAM MERRICK:

Burial: Unknown, Brewster Cemetery

More About WILLIAM MERRICK and ABIGAIL HOPKINS:

Marriage: May 23, 1667, Eastham, Barnstable Co., MA

Children of ABIGAIL HOPKINS and WILLIAM MERRICK are:

i. REBECCA5 MERRICK, d. Unknown.

ii. WILLIAM MERRICK, d. Unknown.

iii. STEPHEN MERRICK, d. Unknown.

iv. BENJAMIN MERRICK, d. Unknown.

v. NATHANIEL MERRICK, d. Unknown.

vi. JOHN MERRICK, d. Unknown.

vii. JOSHUA MERRICK, d. Unknown.

viii. RUTH MERRICK, d. Unknown.

ix. SAMUEL MERRICK, d. Unknown.

Source: Descendants of Stephen Hopkins of the Mayflower, "Mayflower Families Through Five Generations", Volume Six, by Jon D. Austin. Part of the five generations project of the Mayflower Society. http://www.themayflowersociety.com/book.htm